Hammer song and The Tower of Pain
by Albilibertea
Summary: Harder and harder, still harder now, the singing reverberates through the tower of pain. Who is that trembling up there, clinging to the top?


A/N: My first time writing in this fandom! :D Haha, I can't believe I can rip myself off Hetalia for a while :v Sorry if I made any dumb mistakes.

Inspired by the song _Hammer Song and Tower of Pain_ of Bump of Chicken.

Beta'd by PixieDust291

Hammer song and Tower of Pain

_Harder and harder, still harder now, _

_The singing reverberates through the tower of pain__  
__Who is that trembling up there, _

_Clinging to the top?_

The first time Loki discovered that strange stone was when he was five.

He had gone out of the palace in order to find some books in the local library and had been bullied, again. The other children had thrown rocks at him and called him names. After they had left, the poor Prince curled up in a ball and sobbed quietly. Why was everyone always being mean to him because he looked different? He hadn't done anything wrong. Why couldn't he be loved too?

Loki wiped away his tears and slowly stood up, wincing at the pain in his knee. He was about to leave when he noticed a stone on the ground. It was strange, red in color, and had a crack stretching across its surface. But what surprised Loki the most was the fact that it looked like a heart. Was he the one who made it? Maybe it was his magic? The little Prince tilted his head to one side, studying the stone. It made him feel strange but somewhat comfortable. He thought for a while and dropped it into his pocket. Maybe it'd do no harm to keep the little stone.

_All these little pains I wanted to get rid of_

_ But couldn't bring myself to, build up__  
__I've kept them for so long,_

_And now filled up my first full box of them._

Loki didn't tell anyone about the stone, even Thor. He felt oddly excited at the thought of having something for his own. The little Prince then kept it in a small box and tucked it under his bed, smiling to himself. Loki wondered if he could find another one.

He didn't have to wait so long.

The Prince stood before his Father, hands playing nervously with the hem of his shirt and guilt building up in his emerald eyes. Odin looked at his son and sighed.

"You caused trouble again, Loki." He said sternly. "How many times have I told you to stop those pranks? Nobody finds it funny, you know."

Loki looked at the ground like it was the most interesting in the world; his lips formed a small pout. "I'm sorry, Father." He mumbled quietly.

"This time you are grounded for a month. No magic, no going outside, no silly pranks, just stay in your room. There will be a servant to bring meals to you but don't ever think of trying to trick them or sneaking out, understand?"

"Yes, Father."

"You are free to go, then." Odin waved a hand at his son.

Loki wanted to say something but thought better to keep his mouth shut. The little Prince bowed to his Father and turned around. A pain shot through his heart, his stomach churning as he heard Odin mumbled.

"Why can't he be like Thor?"

Loki gritted his teeth, hands clutching at his chest as he ran outside, trying to fight back tears. That sentence again. He didn't understand why his Father always compared him with Thor. He tried to please him, he really did, but it seemed all of his efforts were nothing but waste. It hurt. It hurt so much.

"Why?" Loki whispered. He opened his hand that had been clutching at his chest all this time and realized there was a heart-shaped stone, just like the one on the other day. "You will appear when I get hurt?" He felt a little silly talking to a stone, but nevertheless feeling a little warmer at the magical appearance of it.

Loki brought the stone to his heart, hugging his treasure tightly. "One more." He whispered.

And Loki knew it was not going to be the last.

_You know, it doesn't hurt anymore_

_But when someone sees me_

_If I have this pain_

_Maybe it will allows them to show me a little tenderness._

As time passed by, Loki had to change to a bigger box to keep his stones but one was just not enough anymore. Soon, he already had two boxes and the third was already half full. But mean words and bullies were now something Loki was used to. He knew everybody in Asgard didn't like him and it was okay, he didn't want to receive their pity either. He was fine by himself, really, but those broken stones still appeared.

"Brother!" A familiar voice exclaimed. Loki looked up from his book in annoyance as Thor burst into the room with his blasted blinding grin. The blonde locks of his hair were slightly damped from all the sweats but excitement and happiness were still visible in those baby blue eyes. Loki wrinkled his nose in disgusted as Thor came near him. "I learned how to use a sword today! It's so awesome!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm glad you like it." Loki rolled his eyes. "Now stop there. I don't want you to hug me when your body is coated with sweat. Shouldn't you take a shower first? I can smell you even when you haven't opened…oh wait…'knocked down' the door yet." He hissed.

Thor pouted, closing his arms like a little child, which he wasn't, considering he was eleven now. "You're just jealous because you are not old enough to learn swordplay."

"And have myself smell like I haven't bathed in two years? Thank you, but I'd like to stay with my books." Loki replied coolly, turning over a page.

"You can't say something nice to me for once, can you?" Thor frowned. "It is not like when you were still small and tugging at my shirt to ask me to carry you around!"

That made something snap. "Don't bring it up!" Loki said through gritting teeth. "Now get out before I throw something sharp at your face."

Thor pouted again, unfazed by his brother's threat but left nonetheless, closing the door gently behind him. Loki sat back at his chair, face red with anger and embarrassment.

"How could you possibly say that?" Loki mumbled. "That was the time when you were still at my side, Thor. Those were the times when you didn't hang out with your friends all day. That was the time when you still remembered about me…still needed me." He sniffed. "It is different now, brother." The little Prince felt a single tear rolling down his cheek.

Another stone appeared.

_I gather up that which I threw away _

_And pile the full boxes one atop the other__  
__Watching others pass by out of the corner of my eye _

_I pile the tenth box on top. _

Loki looked under his bed, sighing as he couldn't find anywhere to put his eleventh box. The thirteen-year-old Prince sat back on the floor, thinking of somewhere he could put his boxes of broken hearts. They were not just 'stones' to him anymore.

The raven haired Prince snapped his fingers, face lit up when he remembered an empty ground on a far corner of the palace's garden. No one ever came near it so maybe he could hide his boxes there.

"Hm…but what if I build a tower and when it's high enough, maybe everyone will know how many pain I've felt, maybe Father will pay more attention to me and treat me nicer!" The Prince smiled at his innocent thought, a tiny tinge of hope rose in his heart. Loki stood up, pulling all the boxes out, except the newest one he hadn't filled up yet and used his magic to teleport them all to a far corner of the Palace's garden.

"All right! I have ten boxes here!" He announced proudly to no one and put each one on top another, humming a nameless tune as he did so.

The little Prince stopped to admire his hand-work. The boxes were arranged carefully and higher than his head, but Loki knew it was not enough. The trees still blocked the view to his tower, He still had a long road to go.

"Maybe when it is tall enough for everyone to see, they'll know my pain." Loki whispered, emerald eyes sparkling with hope.

Maybe…

_Hmm, still not enough, huh?_

_Doesn't look like anyone can see it yet._  
_So I'll just have to keep building it up,_

_Until the whole world can see it._

"Where are you going these days, Brother?" Thor asked, sitting on Loki's bed. They were old enough to not share a room anymore, but Thor seemed not to know what 'privacy' meant and often burst into Loki's room at any time he felt like it. The younger one didn't even bother to shout at his idiotic brother anymore.

"It's none of your business." Loki replied dryly. You will see it soon, after all. He mentally added.

Thor winced at the harsh words, but continued "Why don't you go out with me and my friends tomorrow? It has been long…"

"You do remember the last time I hung out with you and your friends, you guys left me alone in the wood for hours because you all were too caught up with your hunt, don't you?" Loki eyed his brother mockingly.

"That was an accident!" Thor retorted. "I already said sorry the whole day after."

"Tsk, tsk. That didn't change the fact that you cared about your preys than I." Loki said, closing his book. Before Thor could reply, he was cut off by Loki pressing a finger against his lips. "Shh! You don't have to say anything. I appreciate your effort, Brother, but I can't go out with you tomorrow. I'm sorry." He nudged Thor out of his room and closed the door at his brother's face.

Thor sighed, running a hand through his hair. Since when did Loki become so far away?

_Higher and higher, still higher _

_Now a tower of pain to reach the birds in the sky__  
__Look at him scrambling to the top, pretending to be king, _

_Who does he think he is?_

As Loki watched his Fa- no, Odin stripped away Thor's power, his head was still trying to adjust the information he had just discovered.

He was not Odin's son. He was a Frost Giant. He was the monster that was cursed and hated by all Asgardians. And he was being lied to this whole time.

Memories of that frozen land flooded back, made his heart ache and his head spin. No. He thought. He could not show his weakness right now. Especially when everything had gone just as planned. Yes, it was falling into pieces. He should be happy_…Happy…_

Loki found a broken heart in his pocket.

_I looked down on the onlookers, _

_Their mouths agape wondering what was going on__  
__From here they look like ants,_

_And so I piled on the hundredth box._

The raven haired Prince was swinging his legs while sitting on the top of his own Tower. There were hundred boxes now. He had to admit he was rather surprised by the quick increase. The top of it could be seen now from the palace. He had used his magic to steady the whole thing and usually climbed on its top every afternoon. It gave him a sense of relax and peace. Like a small secret world of his own.

It was rather lonely and quiet without Thor. He wanted to admit it, but his stubborn side refused. No, he didn't miss that oaf. Thor was not his Brother. No. And there was no reason to pay affection to him. Loki closed his eyes, feeling cool wind blowing through his hair. The trickster exhaled slowly, enjoying his rare peaceful moment.

He had gone too far and there was no turning back now.

"I truly am a monster." Loki smiled bitterly. He knew some of the servants and folks had been aware of his Tower's abnormal existence. At last, his Tower was finally tall enough for everyone to look up to. At last, people could see his pain. At last, he was recognized.

But now what?

_Those of you who have gathered below,_

_This, is my pain__  
__And here I am, so high above you _

_That your consoling cannot even reach me._

Loki was falling.

Oh, he knew that. He was well-aware of it. He was the one who let go of Thor's hand, after all.

In the end, he couldn't win. In the end, didn't everyone still hate him most? He was nothing but a monster, a forgotten Prince, always lost in Thor's shadow. Would anyone mourn for him? Would his Tower be destroyed? After his death, would Thor discovered it and realized how many pain had burdened his 'little brother'? Probably not. Thor was always an obvious idiot.

The fallen Prince closed his eyes and let darkness embraced him.

On the top of the Tower of Pain, not only one, but a whole new box appeared.

_Surely I am special._

_Someone that everyone must look up to.__  
__It was because I was chosen by the god of loneliness, _

_That I have come to this view._

Loki looked at those people who were kneeling before him, smiling somewhat manically. Yes, this was how everything was supposed to be. He was the King. He was not pathetic. He had survived that fall, had he not? And now he was here, ready to get his revenge.

"You'll always kneel." He said mischievously, satisfied with the fact that he had made people kneel to him, look up to him. _Him_. Loki Laufeyson. Not that Thor's little brother, not that forgotten Prince. Not anymore.

But then why was it that somewhere deep in his heart, it still hurt?

_Higher and higher, still higher _

_Now a tower of pain to reach the clouds above_  
_Seated on the top, _

_A God pretending to be King._

The night before his invasion, Loki used his magic to teleport to his Tower. He sat quietly on the top, legs still swinging rhythmically as always. He felt like a child again, the only difference was now his Tower was higher than the highest tree. Loki wondered why it was still here. One stood in the castle could easily spot it. Why hadn't they destroyed the Tower already?

Loki shook his head. It was not time for questions. He had an invasion to prepare. With a snap of his fingers Loki disappeared, unaware of a glimpse of a red cape down below.

_All I hear is the sound of the wind,_

_As I pile on the thousandth box_

_W__hen I looked down I got dizzy, _

_And the seat I had been in was blown off._

The muzzle made Loki felt uneasy. Everything had gone wrong and now he was here, about to be led back to Asgard by his bro- no, by Thor.

Emerald green eyes met with sky blue ones and Loki immediately looked down, he couldn't know what Thor was thinking. Did he think he was pathetic? Useless? Did he think he was weak, being beaten up by that green monster? Did he…Did he…?

Did he know about the Tower of Pain?

_And that's when I felt truly alone._

_It doesn't seem like anyone can see me._

_I was scared speechless,_

_And suddenly I heard the hammer song._

Before he was tossed into a dungeon to wait for Odin's decision of his punishment, Loki managed to escape.

Using the last of his magic, he transported himself to the top of his Tower. He didn't have enough strength to go somewhere further. Even with his muzzle had been removed, he still had a chain and was simply too weak now. Was his Tower taller now? He thought he could reach those stars above.

Everybody must be panic now. But it seemed none of them possibly think of his hiding place on the top of this Tower. After all, even if they knew this was made of his pain, why would they care? The thought brought tears to Loki's eyes but he shook them away stubbornly. He was used to people ignoring him, wasn't he? He didn't cry anymore in the past, why now? No, he was not that sentimental.

_Sentimental…_

It was then he finally caught a glimpse of a familiar red cape he hadn't seen the last time.

_From the bottom, each box was knocked out in order, _

_The singing of someone's hammer song._

_"We all want to talk to you, _

_So come down to our level."_

Was that…Thor? Loki's eyes narrowed. There were more people standing behind him. Had they found out? Was that mean…they knew…

Loki's thought was cut off when he suddenly dropped downward. The raven hair Prince cried in surprise as he tried to cling at the box. What the hell was happening?

As each box was knocked out, Loki found himself being closer to the ground. His eyes went wide when he saw down there, Thor was using Mjolnir to hit the boxes, eyes filled with hope and somewhat sadness as he looked up to Loki. But he wasn't the only one.

Loki felt tears prickled at the corner of his eyes again. At the bottom of the Tower, Odin, Frigga, Sif, The Warrior Three and almost everyone were gathering down there, smiling up at him.

"It was not…possible." Loki breathed out, but at the same time he felt something swell in his heart, spreading a warm feeling though his body.

Maybe it was happiness.

_Harder and harder, still harder now, _

_The singing reverberates through the tower of pain__  
__Clinging to the top, _

_Is a god with a runny nose._

There was only one box left when Thor stopped knocking. Loki was sitting on that last one, tears streaming down his face. Thor stepped forward and pulled his little brother into a bone-crushing hug.

"I've knocked all of your pain away." He whispered. "Please come back."

Loki was stunned. He didn't know what to say, or how to react. Over Thor's shoulder, he saw his mother smiling at him, her eyes were wet with tears, too.

"You have done bad things, Son." Odin said gently. "But we have false in this, too. We shouldn't hide the truth from you, we shouldn't make you feel alone and abandoned. We are sorry." The old God sighed, his eyes were sad but warm when he looked at Loki.

"H…how long…" Loki whispered, hating his own shaking voice.

"Since your fall from…Bilfrost." Thor answered. "We have discovered that Tower and known how many pain you have been suffering." He hugged his brother close. "I knew you are hurt…but seeing that Tower…I'm so sorry, Loki. Will you forgive us?"

Loki looked around, his…parents, everybody were looking at him hopefully and lovingly. Their warm smiles made his heart melt. What should he do? After all those years trying to be recognized as who he was, and when time had finally come, he didn't know how to act.

Frigga stepped forward, extending her hand. "You don't need to forgive us right away. But I believe time will heal every wound. Right now, I just want you to come back…to our family, is that fine?" She said gently, eyes filled with love.

The emotion was overwhelming. Loki sobbed out loud and reached out to hold his mother's warm hand while still in Thor's embrace. He felt like a child again, crying to his brother's shoulder and holding his beloved mother's hand. Loki felt himself whispered.

"Yes."

_Me, pretending to be King, _

_I'm the opposite of who I was pretending to be,__  
__This is who I am, _

_Who are you?_

~End~

A/N: I changed the original lyrics a little :3 It's 'A King pretending to be God', actually. You can watch the video of this song on youtube (I recommend the one of Hetalia with England!) w Bonus point if you regconize an all-too-familiar line that I stole from almost every Revolutionary!USUK fanfics XD I can't get my head out of Hetalia, after all.

Reviews would be nice :3


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